ENGLISH
REFERENCE

mug

n. countable
A2 Elementary US //ˈməɡ// UK //mˈʌɡ// mug Archaic Slang Vulgar

n. a large, heavy cup with a handle. You use it for drinking hot liquids like coffee, tea, or hot chocolate.

n. a large cylindrical drinking vessel, typically featuring a handle and used without a saucer for hot beverages.


SIMPLE

I drink my morning coffee from a large blue mug.

CONTEXTUAL

She filled her favorite ceramic mug with steaming tea and sat down by the window to read.

COMPLEX

The kitchen cabinet was filled with a mismatched collection of souvenir mugs, each representing a different city the family had visited over the last decade.

Synonyms
Etymology 1

Early 16th century (originally Scots and northern English, denoting "earthenware, pot, jug"), of unknown origin, perhaps from North Germanic (compare Swedish mugg (“mug, jug”), Norwegian mugge (“pitcher, open can for warm drinks”), Danish mugge), or Low German mokke, mukke (“mug”), German Low German Muck (“drinking cup”), Dutch mok (“mug”), also of unknown origin. Perhaps related to Old English muga (“stack”) and Old Norse múgr (“mass, heap (of corn)”). Compare also Middle English mug, mog (“a measure of salt”).

Etymology 2

Informal variant of motherfucker.

© 2026 English Reference